Return to Happily Ever After: A Captain Swan Fic
by Elielf
Summary: The heroes and newly-reformed villains have returned to Storybrooke to give Captain Hook a proper funeral and continue with their lives, but the revelation of a way for the former pirate to return to life gives Emma hope for their happily ever after...until she learns the price. This story takes place after the events of OUAT S5E20 "Firebird"
1. Wondering

**Disclaimer: OUAT does not belong to me, like everyone in this community, I do it for fun.**

* * *

The rain on that dreaded day could not be worse; it was as if the skies themselves mourned the death of the pirate.

But not even the weather could delay the funeral of Killian Jones and Emma herself made sure of that. She worked on the details as soon as they all returned to Storybrooke and briefly smiled when all the citizens - even those that were wronged by the pirate - came to the cemetery to give the hero a last goodbye.

When everything finished and only Emma remained at the grave, Tinkerbell approached her in an attempt to comfort her.

"For a long time, the only thing he cared about was vengeance" she said "His love for you changed him into a better man, you should be proud Emma"

"I know" Emma answered, still sobbing.

Tinkerbell did not know how to comfort her, for she did not know how to cope with the loss of her friend. She merely pet her in the back then left the cemetery.

At the distance, a worried Charming family (David, Henry and Snow) watched the scene as they were having the same doubts as the green-winged fairy.

"She's lost love again" Snow cried "How can we help her come out of this?"

"Our daughter is strong" David answered "Just give her some time"

"I don't know if time will be enough David, It was true love, the test on the ambrosia confirmed it" Snow replied

"Are we entirely sure Hades did not cut the ambrosia?" David, trying to change the subject, enquired

"When we returned to Storybrooke I recreated Hades' story, grandpa" Henry intervened "and I can tell you it wasn't him"

"I'm still amazed that pen is still working in this world, given the fact that you broke it before all this…thing" David replied

"I believe it's still working because there are still the stories left to tell" Henry answered

"I wish it could tell us if our daughter will ever have the happy ending she deserves" Snow sighed, and after that, the family left.

Emma remained at Hook's grave until the moon rose in the sky, then left to the house they were supposed to share to try take some rest, and also to try figuring out the way to fulfill the promise she made to him of not putting back her armor…..if she could.

* * *

 **This idea came to me right after the latest episode of OUAT "Firebird"**

 ** _Ok, so this was the 1st chapter (short, I know, the juicy stuff comes next, and will probably be larger episodes); I will do my best to try have this story completed this week (before the next episode ruins my inspiration). Reviews are more than welcome but please don't be too harsh on me, this is my very first fic and my mother tongue is not English, Hope you enjoy!_**


	2. Hunches and Separations

**Ok, so this chapter is focused on Regina and Robin (hence Regina being mentioned as main character despite the later focus on Hades and Zelena), but I'll return to the Emma/Hook thing on Chapter 3**

 **A few points to understand it better (just implied but not directly mentioned):**

 **\- Robin was already living with Regina, Roland and Zelena's daughter**

 **\- The previews of E5S21 show that apparently Hades is going to doublecross the heroes (again?), but in this story I'm assuming he meant what he said to Zelena and no longer cares for revenge or evil stuff, but only to be with her.**

 **\- A wink to the episode "7:15" of OUAT S1 at the very beginning.**

 **So enjoy!**

* * *

It was 7: 15 am and many of the Storybrooke folk gathered at Granny's for a cup of coffee before heading to work.

Amongst them was Regina, who in between sips of her cappuccino checked her smart phone for messages from Robin….but nothing was there; not in Whatsapp, Telegram nor even Facebook Messenger.

She considered calling him again or leave what would be the 140th voicemail but after some thoughts she put her phone back in her purse and sighed.

And no matter what she did, the memories of that infamous day two weeks ago would keep popping in her head, tormenting her:

 _"No, no no, absolutely not!"_ _Robin yelled "One thing is allowing Zelena to see MY daughter and a very different one to permit that this..this…devil raises her!"He ended up, Hades being the devil in question._

 _"_ _She is MY daughter too thief!" Zelena responded, also yelling "And he is NOT a devil!"_

 _"_ _Could we stop yelling and calm down? "Regina intervened and sighed; that Sunday morning at her place was going well until Zelena and Hades popped at her door with the surprising petition of adopting Zelena's daughter….though not so surprising at the same time._

 _When everyone cooled down, Zelena took the word again:_

 _"_ _Listen Robin, I know you care for our girl but let's be honest: the whole situation around her is awkward!.What will you tell her when she asks how she came into this world? That her mamma tricked her father into bed so she could revenge on her aunt!?"_

 _"_ _Zelena!" Both Hades and Regina reacted_

 _"_ _What?, It is the truth, no matter how much we try to deny it" Zelena sighed and then continued "I'm trying to do the right thing and give you both the chance to have a normal life….so please….take it"_

 _"_ _I can assure you that I will love and take care of your daughter as if she were my own" Hades intervened "_

 _"_ _Forgive me if I do not trust the man who trapped my girlfriend in the Underworld barely two weeks ago" Robin angrily replied_

 _"_ _Hades has given us more than enough proof that he means to start over" Regina said " Had he wanted to double-cross us he would have done it already"_

 _"_ _The ex-Evil Queen makes a point" Hades said_

 _"_ _I agree with the adoption Robin, and so should you" Regina replied again_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, but I don't" Robin said_

 _Regina got closer to Robin and murmured "I know you have doubts but please trust in me, let them adopt your daughter, everything will be for the best"_

 _"_ _I would normally agree with you, but not on this, not this time" Robin paused and then turned to both Zelena and Hades "And as long as you pursue this nonsense, you are not allowed to see her"_

 _Hades' face turned angry and his usually blonde hair turned into flames. He was about to shoot a fireball to Robin but Zelena stopped him before he raised his hand, and with tears in her eyes she said "Fine, do as you please but we will not stop until we succeed. Come Hades, let's go"_

 _They were heading to the door when Regina stopped them, then turned around to face Robin "So, this is it? Is this your final decision? She asked him._

 _"_ _I already made my point" He replied, already fed up._

 _"_ _Then I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice" Regina replied and with a twist of her hand she froze Robin, then headed upstairs and returned with the girl. Zelena and Hades watched amazed as she placed the girl into Zelena's arms._

 _"_ _I trust you…both of you" Regina told them "Please don't make me regret my decision"_

 _"_ _We won't….thank you" Both Hades and Zelena replied_

 _Regina then hugged her sister and the happy family left the 108_ _th_ _of Miflin Street._

 _Once they were out of sight Regina unfroze Robin, who understandably gave her the angriest and saddest of looks._

 _"_ _I'm sorry for this, but you really gave me no choice" She said, lowering her eyes_

 _"_ _No….don't be… I finally see how things are with you" He replied while heading upstairs into their chambers_

 _"_ _What is that supposed to mean?" Regina asked while following him then opened wide eyes as she saw him pick a suitcase from under the bed and begin packing up what few belongings he had there._

 _"_ _When it's about you I have to support you, help you and respect your opinion, but when it's your turn…..I do not exist" He said_

 _"_ _You're making this worse than it is" She exclaimed_

 _"_ _Oh really!? So giving away my daughter to a couple of villains is to make it worse!? Well….seems I forgot you used to be one" Robin began yelling again and when he finished packing he rushed downstairs._

 _Regina shut her eyes to avoid the upcoming flood of tears and tried hard to ignore Robin's last commentary while following him again._

 _"_ _They are no longer villains….and I know you didn't mean what you just said…." She said, her voice breaking, tears flowing despite her best attempts._

 _Robin was already at the front door, and when he opened it to leave he turned around and replied: "Perhaps not, but it is clear we do not have the same beliefs. Goodbye Regina"_

"Regina? Regina are you ok?" Snow, who had just arrived to Granny's with David, asked, snapping Regina out of her thoughts

Regina had not yet told the Charmings about her situation with Robin, they had gone through enough already to burden them with more problems and on that issue she needed some privacy; so she merely smiled and nodded with her head.

"You don't seem so ok" She quickly changed the subject

"It's Emma" Snow sighed "She hasn't received any of us since Hook's funeral, not even Henry"

"It's barely a month since we returned to Storybrooke" Regina replied "Give her more time"

"Henry told us she has not left her house" David intervened "Not even to buy supplies"

"And you are worried because?" Regina asked "She has magic, I'm pretty sure she won't starve to death" Snow and David looked at each other disgusted and Regina realized she said something out of place.

"Listen, if you are all concerned we can go tonight to her place and check if she's ok" Regina suggested, trying to amend

"We could do more than that" Snow replied "We could all go and cook dinner for her, try to cheer her up"

In that moment Snow looked at the distance and in the other extreme of the he saw all the fairies sitting in a table together having coffee and had a sudden idea."We could invite your friend Tinkerbell" ;both David and Regina looked at her, intrigued.

"Greenie!? Regina asked "This is a family thing, what does that fairy have to do with it?"

"I saw her speaking to Emma on Hook's funeral, and thought she could help" Snow said

"So did many other people, what makes her special?" Regina asked again

Without taking her eyes from Tinkerbell, Snow replied "Call it crazy, but I have a hunch that she might be more helpful than we think"

"And if it turns you were right and I don't listen to you, you will not cease to remind me" Regina declared, while rolling her eyes

"Everything sounds fine but it's getting late and I need to go to the sheriff station" David said while looking at his watch "Let me know if we're going with this"

"I'll text you later. Love you" Snow replied while giving David a peck on the lips

Once he left Snow asked "Will you ask her or you want me to do it?"

"I'll do it, meet you there" Regina replied and Snow left to the school

Regina then finished what was left of her coffee and walked to the table where the fairies were sitting, then turned to Blue:

"Excuse me, Mother Superior, could I borrow Tinkerbell for a while?"

"Why, sure Madam Mayor" Blue answered then Tinkerbell rose from the table and went to Regina

"We need your help" Regina asked Tinkerbell

* * *

 _ **Well, this was Chapter 2; all this argument with Robin and Regina was inspired in the reaction Robin had when he handed his daughter to Zelena in the Underworld...and as said in the beginning, next chapters will be more focused on Emma/Hook.  
**_


	3. Fairy History

_**Well, before anything else, thank you very much for the favs and the comments!, it's so nice to see there are people reading and enjoying this story.**_

 _ **I'm really tired of writing 2 chapters in one evening but it has been very rewarding to see all these ideas in my mind finally shaping.**_

 _ **Quick notes:**_

 _ **\- Blue slightly OOC (can't picture her being drunk)**_

 _ **\- My first OC, The Fairy Goddess :-) !**_

* * *

It was almost 8 pm and the whole Charming family along with Tinkerbell were reunited at Emma's gate.

"Where's Henry?" Regina asked, it was not usual for Henry to be absent when it came to help one of his mothers

"He said he had an urgent business to attend, but he would meet us later" Snow replied

"As long as he didn't said that as excuse to go meet that Violet girl…." Regina said visibly upset and David merely laughed while accommodating the paper bags with supplies he was carrying.

"Nevermind, let's do this" and she rang the bell.

"One moment!" Emma replied after a moment, seeing through the peephole that this time there were more people with her parents…and that if she did not receive them they would just keep coming; she had been avoiding them the entire month and had to face them at some point, and she guessed the moment had come.

When she opened the door, the whole party could see that she was not in the deplorable state that Snow and Charming feared she was, but it was clear that she had lost some weight and the eye bags could tell she had not slept well in…several nights.

"Hello" Emma saluted

"Hi, I hope you have not taken dinner yet" Regina replied

"Why no, I'm not even hungry" Emma said

"Well I'm glad, because we came to dinner with you" Regina quickly declared before Emma had the chance to bluff them away "May we come in?"

"Um…yes….I suppose" She answered and the whole party came in, Tinkerbell being the last

"Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but why exactly are you here?" Emma asked Tinkerbell, and the fairy did not know what to reply; Regina had just asked her to go to Emma's house to help her and without further question she accepted.

"Um…Regina told me you love lasagna and I make a very delicious one" Tinkerbell quickly lied, but Emma noticed it

"That's not true but I guess….you're welcome anyway" Emma replied and they finished going in.

Ironically, they did have lasagna for dinner and a red fruits desert Tinkerbell bought. After dinner, everyone remained silent, not knowing how to begin the cheering-up until Emma broke it:

"How could I be so stupid!?, had I preserved Hook's body before going to the Underworld we could have made the heart-sharing and he would be alive"

"You're being too harsh on yourself" David said "Remember Hades told you his spirit had already left his body"

"And even if you had preserved it, it would have been useless" Regina intervened "After I lost Daniel I also thought that preserving his body would give me the chance to bring him back…"

"And he did!" Emma interrupted

"Yes, but when he did it he returned as something dark and I had to end him anyway" Regina finished.

"I suppose you are right" Emma sighed and after a long pause continued " And I suppose the reason you are all here, aside from cheering me up is for me to come to terms with the fact that Killian will ever return….he's in the Underworld and probably already moved on"

"Yes sweetie" Snow replied while holding Emma's hand "You need to accept there is no way he will ever come back to life"

When Snow said that last sentence, Tinkerbell looked aside and then to the ground, frowning and shutting her eyes as if trying to contain herself from speaking…..and Regina noticed it.

"Well, I'll do the dishes before the tomato sauce dries" Tinkerbell hastily said "Even with magic it's difficult to take it once it's dried" She then rose from her seat and took the dishes to the kitchen.

Regina then frowned and pursed her lips; a few seconds later she told Tinkerbell she'll help her, but this time it was Snow who noticed something dubious was going on.

"What are you doing?" She murmured to Regina

"Seeing if your hunch was right" Regina replied then headed to the kitchen.

Tinkerbell pretended she did not see Regina and kept doing the dishes; Regina grabbed a cloth and began drying them but after three plates she put the cloth back in the cabinet and grabbed Tinkerbell's hand

"Ok, greenie, you can drop the acting, spit it out" Regina commanded

"What are you talking about?" Tinkerbell nervously asked, still pretending she had no idea and Regina was annoyed; if there was something that pissed her off it was that people tried to dupe her in her face

"Listen, I may not be evil anymore, but I'm not stupid: I saw you turning your head after what Snow said and that means you know something…..Regina then paused, still not believing what that meant

"Yes, but I'm not supposed to tell this to anyone" Tinkerbell blamed herself for being such a terrible liar

"So…are you telling me there is a way to bring Hook back to life!?" Regina asked, wanting to confirm her suspicions

"Could be…but if I tell you and it's known it could cost me my wings again…and I worked very hard to earn them back" Tinkerbell said

"Don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen, but you should tell Emma" And after this (and finishing the dishes, of course) Regina and Tinkerbell returned to the dining room.

"So, Tinkerbell here has something very interesting to tell us, right?" Regina said and Tinkerbell nodded.

"Well, I'm sure we could use some distraction" David said "Please Tinkerbell"

Tinkerbell sighed and then began her narration:

"What I have to tell you is a story from the fairy-folk, my folk.

 _Long time ago, before any of the fairy tale stories ever dreamed to come to life, there was only magic, and that magic flowed free through all the realms, creating life and creatures. But as any power, there was a dark side to it, and sometimes magic went out of control, creating chaos._

 _In order to control magic, The Creator took an apple from a nearby tree, ate it and then waved Its arm and from the remaining seeds created a Goddess; she would be capable of harnessing the magic and control its power"_

 _But the Goddess thought it was not right for one being to have all that power, so she took a branch from the same apple tree and fashioned it into a wand, then waved it ad gave herself a pair of golden wings, then flew along all realms and dimensions and began creating magical beings with wings, which she named "fairies", giving them all the magic power which she translated into fairy dust, but keeping the strongest power to herself. Thus, she became the Fairy Goddess._

 _For some time, there was peace and harmony among the fairies and the other living creatures…but no peace can last forever and power is a very coveted treat"_

"Always has been" Regina interrupts and the others shushed her

 _"_ _One of the realms had the most amount of fairies, and two of them who were the strongest, and also close friends; but whilst one of them used the magic to solve conflicts for good, the other one yearned to have control over all creatures and things…both living and dead._

 _And it happened that one day she got tired to live as a simple fairy and flew away from her mates and into the cemeteries, and began restoring the corpses of the dead and linking their spirits back into their bodies; then she told them that they would be allowed to be alive forever if they swore allegiance to her, which they did"_

 _She did the same with the other realms and dimensions and soon she had a massive amount of creatures loyal to her. Her friend knew what she was doing and attempted to dissuade her and come back home, but blinded by her power she rebuffed her friend and mocked everything fairy. Then she waved her wand and gave herself a dark appearance, adopting the name of "Dark Fairy"_

 _The Dark Fairy then left her realm, but not without convincing other fairies to join her cause. Armed as a group, they gathered more fairies and under the rule of the Dark Fairy created a massive army to make an invasion throughout the realms, a war that was paid with the price of many creatures, magical and non-magical._

 _When the Fairy Goddess saw this she lamented and made the decision to wipe out all fairies; but the Dark Fairy's former friend could not bear the idea of all her other innocent mates being sacrificed, so she crossed out the path through the Forest of Portals to the Eden where the Fairy Goddess lived and there, she begged for the lives or her fairy mates to be forgiven, offering hers in return._

 _The Fairy Goddess knew with this gesture that the problem was not in the fairies, but that she had given them excessive power and so with another wave of her hand, she removed part of the powers given to all fairies and restored the dead to where they belonged._

 _Once she did that, she told the Dark Fairy and its followers that if they regret their actions, they would be allowed to return to their homes and to their normal lives…and all of them did….except for the Dark Fairy herself._

 _Seeing that she would not repent and could be a threat for the future, the Fairy Goddess dissolved the Dark Fairy into dust and concentrated her into a wand. Then she gave the wand to her friend and told her she would now be responsible for her friend, for she and her power were now concentrated in that wand, and appointed her the Leader of the Fairy Folk._

 _She then appointed other fairies in the other realms as Leaders and declared it would be their responsibility to watch that their magic did only good. The sad episode of the Fairy War was wiped from the memories of everyone, except from the Leaders, so they always have in mind what would happen should they fail in their mission"_

There was some moment of awkward silence after Tinkerbell finished her story, until Regina broke it:

"I don't understand, how is this related to bringing Hook back to life?" And the rest of the party entered into shock.

"What do you mean with bringing Hook back to life? Emma asked, wide eyed and with a clear tone of hope in her voice and before Regina could speak again Tinkerbell explained:

"The Fairy Goddess is real and one of the powers she retained was to restore dead bodies along with their spirits…also, the Dark Fairy's friend was Blue and everything happened in the Enchanted Forest"

The shock in the group was even bigger….and now it was Snow who broke the silence:

"I don't understand, if only the leaders have memory of this how do you know?"

"Well, one night, during the six weeks when you went to Camelot, Blue got drunk with the communion wine after mass….and she….kind of spilled the whole thing" Then Tinkerbell's voice changed to a begging tone "But you must swear not to reveal this to anyone, Blue does not even remember she told me!"

"Of course not" David answered "It would be chaos"

"But we still have to tell Blue so she can help us contact the Fairy Goddess" Regina intervened since Emma was still in shock and could not utter a word.

"No, please, you'll get me into trouble and she won't help you" Tinkerbell begged again

"Well, then unless we find another way to contact this Goddess, all this has been in vain" Regina said

"Mom, mom!" Henry entered running, yelling and breathing hard "You are not going to believe this!..the mansion….the book…she can help us!"

* * *

 ** _Ok, so this is how I returned to the Emma/Hook thing: intertwined inside the fairy stuff. (I hope it wasn't too much, if so, I apologize)_**

 ** _Next chapter will deal with this Fairy Goddess encounter and some other details that are key to upcoming chapters._**

 ** _Hope you enjoyed, will be expecting your reviews!_**


	4. The Price to Pay

**Hello, made it to Chapter 4!, So here's where where we meet the Fairy Goddess and learn the price Emma has to pay, and warning: you're not going to like it. But keep following, really, it's gonna pay off.**

* * *

"Whoa kid, calm down" Emma said, Henry still panting and visibly tired

"Where have you been!?" Regina asked "We expected you hours ago"

"Yes mom, and mom" Henry answered "But you're not going to believe this"

"What are you talking about?" Snow asked

"Ok girls, let Henry sit and have some water then I'm sure he can explain" David intervened, and when Henry could breathe normally again he began his explanation:

"Since Hook's funeral I've been dreaming about the Sorcerer's mansion; I walked through the rooms and then arrived to the library, where all the story books are kept. Then in the last bookcase at the left corner, there was a book glowing with golden light….but when I tried to grab it….I woke up.

At first I thought it was just a dream, but as the days passed by I understood that it was trying to tell me something, so today I went to the mansion and to the library" Henry paused still trying to process his discovery.

"And?" Emma, Snow and Regina asked at the same time

"There were no books in the left corner so I decided to check the others one by one, but they were all empty. I began my way here but then the pen fell down and rolled to the left corner; when I picked it up I noticed it was pointing to some sort of elvish symbol carved in the bottom of the bookcase and I touched it. When I rose the bookcase was full with story books"

"A cloaking spell" Regina declared

"Yes, but these storybooks were not empty" Henry continued "I grabbed a couple and read stories we haven't even heard of…"

"What did you mean when you said she can help us?" David interrupted

Henry then opened his schoolbag and took out a storybook which in shape looked like Henry's book but its cover was white with golden embroideries and had a silky texture.

"This book was standing in the exact place as in my dream" Henry said "It contains all the history of the fairies since the beginning of times" Then Henry turned to Tinkerbell "Even you appear in this book, as all the other fairies that have existed; their names, their powers…..and also their weaknesses"

"Hence the cloaking spell" Regina declared again "This information in the wrong hands could be a very dangerous tool"

"But what made me run here was this part" Henry then opened the book and passed the pages till he reached the middle. "Here it speaks of the entity that created all fairies and gave them their powers, her name is…"

"The Fairy Goddess" Emma finished, still astonished with so much information and all the implications this revelations carried.

"You know her!?" Henry asked

"It's a long story" Snow said "What does it say on her?"

"Here it is: _The Fairy Goddess retook the magic, and the fairies were no longer all-mighty magical creatures, but had enough power to fulfill their mission as entities of light; and now only the Fairy Goddess could restore and build new vessels for the spirits of those dwelling in the Underworld"_

 _"_ And look, here it mentions how to get to her" Henry passed another couple of pages, revealing an illustration that looked almost identical to the well in Storybrooke's forest " _Only once a month can the mortals cross to the Eden of the Fairy Goddess, going through the Well of Healing Waters and then across the Forest of Portals. This one time occasion comes on the 20_ _th_ _minute of the 20_ _th_ _hour of the 20_ _th_ _day, so long as the moonlight touches the Well"_

"Wait a second" David said "Tomorrow is the 20th"

"And this well looks exactly like the one in the forest of Storybrooke" Snow completed

"I'm guessing you will need fairy dust and some sort of incantation to open the portal" Tinkerbell said

"It's also in here" Henry replied while turning to Emma "Mom, I can copy it for you, it's our only chance to bring Hook back….and get your happy ending"

"You're right Henry, I'll do this…alone" Emma said

"But Emma!" Snow and David protested

"Every time you've come with me I've endangered your lives, and I will not consent to it anymore" Emma sentenced, but before the Charmings could keep protesting, Regina and Tinkerbell intervened

"Then I'll come with you, and I won't take a no for an answer" Regina said, and then to herself thought " _And I could use some distraction"_

"I will be more than happy to provide the fairy dust" Tinkerbell said

"Got to give you credit, your hunch was right" Regina said to Snow "Let's do this"

* * *

The following night, Emma and Regina gathered at the well with the fairy dust and the copy of the incantation. The sky was particularly cloudy.

"Why is it named the Well of Healing Waters?" Regina asked herself in loud voice

"It doesn't matter much" Emma said while looking at her watch "It's 8:18 pm and unless those clouds move in 2 minutes we will not be able to open the portal"

"Please Emma, when has something so trivial stopped us?" Regina said as she folded her sleeves and shot a beam of her magic straight to the sky, clearing it from clouds and revealing a very bright full moon.

"Wow, sometimes I forget how powerful you are" Emma said while unfolding the page with the incantation "Ready?"

"Yes" Regina answered and at 8:20 pm they poured the fairy dust and recited the spell:

 _"_ _Mighty ancient creatures_

 _Reveal your true form_

 _Show us the path_

 _Crossed first by Reul Ghorm"_

From the well came a bright light and a tunnel was opened. After they crossed it they arrived to a Forest similar to the Enchanted Forest, but the only difference was that all the trees had an entrance with no doors on the base of their trunks. At each entrance was a hallway that looked like the light tunnel people with near-death experiences see.

"Great, now all we have to do is go through each of these 8,000 trees to find the way to the Fairy Goddess!" Regina exclaimed upset.

"I don't think so" Emma replied while heading south, her eyes looked as if hypnotized "We just have to follow the song"

"Which song? I hear nothing" Regina said, but Emma was already far away

Regina then followed Emma, who stopped in front of a really old tree, and still with a hypnotized look said "This is the entrance, let´s go in"

Regina tried twice to go in after Emma did it but was repelled so she sat at the base of the tree and waited.

Emma reached to what looked to be a paradise made of lights of all colors; even the grass and the flowers were made of light. Then she snapped out of her hypnosis and called for Regina.

"Only those meant to find me can hear the song and cross" A female ethereal voice declared "Your friend understood it and waits for you outside, Emma Swan"

"You know me?" Emma asked, nervous

"And also why you're here" The voice replied and from the sky a beam of golden light appeared and the Fairy Goddess emerged: Words were not enough to describe her beauty, but what made Emma be calm in her presence was the transparent look of her emerald eyes.

"Then can you help me? Will you restore Hook to life?" Emma asked

"To your first question the answer is yes, to the second question, it depends on you, for as you know, all magic comes with a price" The Goddess said

"Then please, name the price" Emma said

"I will not restore his body, for that which has decayed must not rise again. Instead, I can create a new one, which will look exactly like his previous self" The Goddess paused and continued in a more serious tone "but once his spirit enters that new vessel, he will forget you and the love he holds for you."

Emma opened her eyes wide while trying to process this information; indeed the price was way too hard to pay.

"Knowing this, do you still want my help?" The Goddess asked but Emma could not utter a word

"Stretch out your hand, Emma" The Goddess commanded and when Emma did it, a rounded diamond necklace with a golden chain appeared."Put the necklace on" She said and Emma obeyed once again.

"I will grant you three days to make your decision. Should it be negative, the necklace you're wearing will disintegrate by sunset on the third day, and you will never be able to come here again, but if your answer is positive, then you must bring his spirit into your world and gather all fairies in your realm at the altar of your church before sunset of the third day, once there I will tell you what to do"

Emma could still not utter a word, so she just nodded indicating she understood.

"You may go now Savior, for you got much thinking to do"

Emma thanked the Fairy Goddess and then left to where Regina was.

"So, what happened?, and that necklace?" Regina asked

"I'll tell you once we arrive, we have to return to Storybrooke" Emma answered and then realized she didn't know the way back.

"Well, fortunately for you I was able to mark the tree that brought us here despite your sudden running" Regina said when she noticed Emma's hesitation "This way"

Regina and Emma poured the remaining fairy dust into the tree and a green tunnel was opened, but when they crossed it they ended not outside but inside Storybrooke's well.

"What the hell happened!?" Emma asked while trying to stay afloat

"Does it matter? We have to get out!" Regina answered also struggling not to drown. Seeing it was going to be impossible to climb the well manually she waved her hands and her usual red smoke cloud took her and Emma outside the well.

"Are you ok?" Emma, still panting, asked Regina who could not stop coughing

"Yes, I must have swallowed some water…" Regina said "But please tell, what just happened in there? Did you see the Fairy Goddess?

"I did" Emma didn't really know where to begin since all the information was still swirling in her head "It's complicated to tell"

"Well, you can tell me while we walk to your place and get dried" Regina answered

* * *

 **In case you haven't noticed, everything related to the Fairy Goddess has to do with gold.**

 **Forest of Portals is slightly based on Narnia.**

 **Following chapter will also focus more on Hades and Zelena and we'll know Emma's decision, so stay tuned!**

 **(Outlawqueen fans: I have not forgotten you, keep following!)**

 **07.05.16 Update: I added the part where Emma and Regina get out of the Forest of Portals; it was going to open Chapter 5 but it fell forced so I moved it. It might seem trivial but there are clues and loose ties that will come together nicely in the end.**


	5. Making Decisions

**After overcoming writer's block I finally finished chapter 5; one more time, thank you adding this story to your favorites: it motivates me.** **Also, in case you missed it, I added to Chapter 4 the part where Regina and Emma return from the Forest of Portals.**

 **As promised, this episode has its main focus on Zades (warning: innuendo implied) with Emma making her choice at the very end.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Two days later, at Zelena and Hades' place, Zelena was in the kitchen sterilizing her daughter's feeding bottles while Hades placed the baby inside her cradle after lulling her to sleep. In that moment the telephone rang and Zelena turned off the stove to answer.

"Hello?, Hi sis'!" Zelena happily answered.

Hades wasn't sure if it was remorse for getting Regina in trouble with Robin Hood or his old villainous habits taking him again, but when he heard it was Zelena's sister on the phone he went to their room – next to the baby's chambers – and quietly picked up the phone from the wooden table next to the bed.

"We need your help" Regina said

"Sure, what can I do for you?" Zelena asked

"Well, long story short, Emma cannot move on from losing Hook and we found a way to bring him back to life" Regina summarized the ordeal of the last days

"Oh my!" Zelena replied and Hades almost dropped the phone as well; as far as his knowledge came, there were only to ways to leave the Underworld: moving on or eating ambrosia, so this new revelation came as a surprise to him.

"Don't get too excited, the price is for Hook to forget everything about Emma….and obviously she doesn't know what to do"

"Pardon my ignorance dear sister, but what am I to do there? It's Emma's choice, not mine" Zelena replied

"I thought if perhaps you could convince Hades to show her if Hook has moved on or if he still is in the Underworld and how is he doing, then she could decide" Regina was sure that more information could be the key to helping Emma with her choice.

"Um….of course, I'll ask Hades and I'm sure he won't say no…..and he better not, or he'll face me" Hades' palms began to sweat, if there was a woman on the planet he shouldn't mess with was his girlfriend.

"Jajaja, once wicked always wicked, right sis'?….ugh!" Regina laughed and then complained. Zelena couldn't tell, but Regina was holding her lower abdomen with her free hand, visibly distraught.

"Are you ok Regina? You seem in pain"

"It's nothing, I must have hit during the journey back in that dreaded well but I'll be fine"

"Ugh!?" Zelena obviously had no idea of what was Regina talking about

"Nothing" Regina quickly returned to the subject, realizing her mistake "Listen, Emma has only 'till tomorrow to make a choice; do you think you can make it to her place this evening?

"Sure, I can speak for him, we'll be there. Bye!"

"Thank you Zelena. Bye"

"You may now hang the phone sweetheart" Zelena commanded, and Hades closed his eyes while hanging the phone and leaving the room like a child caught making pranks.

"You knew I was listening all this time?" Hades asked while climbing the stairs down and heading to the dining room where Zelena was sitting with the wireless phone still out of its base.

"Course I did. Why do you think I said what I said?" Zelena smiled wickedly "So, you heard my sister, can you do what she asked for?

"Yes, even If I'm not Lord of the Underworld anymore I can check on any of its inhabitants… and also, there's nothing you ask of me that I wouldn't do" Hades tried to sweet on his girlfriend, for despite they were now living as a happy couple, she had been acting weird since they returned home with Zelena's daughter, and he feared that this little episode of espionage would trigger something worse.

And Hades' fears were not unfounded, for as soon as he pronounced those words, Zelena rose from her se at and after giving him another wicked smile, she said:

"I'm so glad to listen to that sweetheart, then you won't mind if I do this" and with a flick of her hand she had some magical ropes appear that tied Hades to the chair like a prisoner about to be interrogated, and no matter what he did, he couldn't release himself.

"What are doing, I already said I'm sorry!" Hades yelled

"Well, technically you haven't, but that's not important right now" Zelena said, assuming her Wicked Witch persona "and since you said you'd do anything for me, then answer a question and I'll set you free"

"Sure, anything" Hades answered

"Why on Earth did you wanted the Dark One's child for!?" Zelena began yelling too

"What!? I teared the contract and Belle's still in sleeping curse, why are you bringing this up!?"

"Answer the question or you'll never lay hands on my daughter again" Zelena's "calm" voice was even scarier than her angry one, and Hades sighed and took a deep breath before he answered:

"I wanted the child because I was going to enact the time travel spell" And before he could utter another word Zelena freaked out and began yelling again:

"I knew it, that's why you were so hasty to adopt my daughter, you want to use it for your revenge!, how can you do this to me!?" Zelena kept yelling and yelling and Hades remained quiet; though it was only a month since he started living with Zelena, he had learned to stay silent during these outbursts if he wanted to come out of them unharmed.

When she got tired of yelling, he continued his explanation:

"I was going to enact the time travel spell but not to avenge on Zeus; I was going to arrange circumstances so that you and I met and fell in love before. I figured out that if I did that, you could restart my heart the minute my brother froze it without going through the Underworld stuff, and I could give you everything your sister had and more so that I would become the biological father of your child and not that thief" Hades paused for a moment, then continued with a less grave voice "I will never get tired of telling you Zelena, I love you more than life, and would die first before harming you or your daughter, and I can tell you, from my heart, that I already love that girl as if she were mine".

There was an uncomfortable minute of silence and then Hades sighed again and broke it:

"Is my answer satisfactory…sweetheart?"

"I suppose yes" Zelena's voice broke down and her eyes filled with tears: she was prepared for a villainous response but instead found this loving man and devoted father and she knew she could not ask more from life.

"Then in return I would like you to answer me one question" Hades said

"Anything" Zelena replied while giving him a broad and sincere smile

"Why am I still tied up? Hades asked and Zelena wiped out her tears and wickedly smiled to him again.

Then she sexily straddled him and with the most seductive voice whispered in his right ear:

"Because I'm wicked …my love"

Hades passionately kissed his girlfriend and allowed her to do to him whatever her fantasies told her to.

* * *

The evening arrived and the full Charming family gathered again at Emma's place. Snow, David, Henry and Regina were all bickering about what the best choice for Emma would be, while she sat on the living room grabbing her head with both hands, all confused and with mixed feelings.

"Enough now!" Emma shouted "You are only getting me more confused!"

"Sorry mom" Henry apologized "We were just trying to help you make a decision"

"I know it kid, but I don't need help, I just made up my mind" Emma replied and everybody stared at her, wondering what would she decide.

"I'm not going through with this" Emma simply declared

"Emma, darling, are you entirely sure of this?" Snow asked "If you change your mind later, you won't be able to ask for the Fairy's help anymore"

"I know mom" Emma said "But if I choose to revive Hook, I will have stolen from him the chance to move on again and I won't be selfish with him anymore…plus, I don't think I could be able to watch him make a new life without me in it; assuming he hasn't gone to a better place"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that" Hades said, startling out everybody, since they didn't hear him coming "By the way the door was opened, I didn't force it or anything"

"What do mean you are not so sure?" Emma asked, ignoring the last remark

"And why the hell are you here!?" David also asked, still wary of the former Lord of the Underworld

"Regina asked for my help through Zelena" Hades answered and then turned to Regina "By the way, she apologizes for not being here, but she had to breast-feed her daughter" Regina merely nodded her head, though she didn't went through that process with Henry, she remembered how tired his nurse ended.

And before Emma or anyone else could ask what kind of help, Hades continued "And I can see you already made up your mind Savior, but nevertheless I believe you should see this"

Hades then walked a few steps ahead to the mirror on the entrance, waved his right arm and the reflection on it changed to reveal images of Hook crossing the abyss that took souls either to heaven or to hell and being engulfed by flames….only to find himself outside that place. The image then changed to Hook scouring desperate for his story through the book with unfinished business Henry left in the Underworld's library over and over again, then closing it violently while looking very puzzled.

"What does this mean!?" Emma asked, troubled for seeing Hook in that state

"It means that despite having no unfinished business, Hook cannot move on; he is trapped forever in the Underworld"

"How can than it be?" Henry asked

"In my experience, people like him are to fulfill special destinies in the living world" Hades replied "That's why they cannot cross the abyss; as much as they want to, they are not meant to move on...but they cannot leave the Underworld either"

"It is so sad" Snow replied "And there's nothing you can do to fix this? There must be many others with the same situation"

"That was already settled when I became Lord of the Underworld, even then I couldn't do anything to change it" " _And must admit that I used to enjoy it"_ Hades thought to himself, then spoke to Emma again:

"Well, my job was to give you this information and it's done, but before I leave let me make an observation Emma: You say you don't want to be selfish with Hook anymore but you are denying him the chance to have a new life because you can't stand the idea of him not being with you. Pardon me, but isn't that selfish too? After finishing this last sentence, Hades turned around and left the place, leaving everybody in silence.

"He should not have spoken to you like that!" David exclaimed, angry

"But…..he is right dad" Emma answered, still staring at the mirror, already normal.

" No Emma, you're everything but selfish" Snow said

"But I am!" Emma exclaimed Killian cannot move on and if I say no, I'm condemning him to dwell forever in the Underworld. True love does not do that!"

"Then what will you do? Henry asked

"The right thing" Emma replied "I will bring him back; Hook deserves a happy ending…even if it does not include me"

* * *

 **I have to admit I enjoyed very much writing this Chapter: Since Zades became canon, I always imagined her being the tough one.**

 **Next two chapters are the climax of this story, which means lots of angst...consider yourselves warned.**

 **As always, reviews are more than welcome :-)**


	6. Unwillingness

**All right, before notes and explanation I would like to give an apology because I was not able to finish this story before last Sunday's episode like I promised on Chapter 1 (but will definitely get it done before the finale, cross my heart!)**

 **With this said and like I mentioned in Chapter 5, this chapter and (at least) part of the next one are the climax of this tale so there are lots of angst, especially for CaptainSwan fans and a bit for Rumbelle fans (if there are any reading this).**

 **Another warning: I have not watched OUAT S5E21 and won't do it till I finish this story, otherwise my inspiration will be ruined. Sadly it has happened to me before: When OUAT S2E5 "The Doctor" aired, I created a whole scheme for a StableQueen fic mapped, happy ending and everything; but it had a hole in the middle so I decided to keep watching in order to get more ideas. As the series progressed, it switched to Outlawqueen but many of the plots I had were now incompatible and many characters would have turned OOC, which I really don't want...and the fic went to the backburner, probably forever until I find a way to rescue it.**

 **My point is: don't be surprised if elements from last episode are not included (would that turn this fic AU?), hope you still enjoy it!**

* * *

On the midday of the third day, after Henry left school, the Charmings paid a visit to the fairies to ask for their help with Hook's revival; Blue was shocked that other people different than her knew about the Fairy Goddess and she was reluctant to speak on the subject until Henry explained and showed her the book he found in the sorcerer's mansion.

The family was able to convince Blue and the others to help them, and when they thought they had everything they needed, Regina reminded Emma that they needed Hook's spirit in Storybrooke.

"Believe me Regina, I've thought about it but I still don't know what to do" Emma said "Had I been able to bring his spirit from the Underworld I wouldn't need to go through any of this"

"I have an idea" Snow intervened "We could do the same ritual we used to talk to Cora when we were trying to find out Zelena's intentions with the time-travel thing"

"And I remind you that for that ritual we need both the murderer and the murder weapon" Regina replied "and we don't have the second one"

"No….unless we could steal from Gold the Dark One's dagger" Snow replied

"Gold!, that's the answer mom!" Henry, who had been quiet all this time, intervened

"I don't understand" Both Regina and Emma replied at the same time, and then Henry got his Storybook out of his schoolbag, went through the pages and stopped almost at the end of Hades' story, in the part where he and Gold created the portal to Storybrooke:

"See? Gold and Hades created a portal in the Underworld; and if it can be created one way… then it can be created the other way"

"It's a slim chance but it could work". Regina said "We will also need Hades' help and we don't have much time so what do you say if you three go to Gold's shop and Henry and I go find Hades?

"Sounds fair to me" David, also quiet until that moment, replied.

"I still don't understand how you can carry two storybooks and no text-books" Regina told Henry while on the way to Zelena and Hades' place.

"I'm the author mum; it's my duty to carry them. Besides, text-books are no longer printed. Grandma Snow has us read them online" Henry answered "By the way, how are your stomach pains?"

"Um…they're gone thanks" Regina replied a bit baffled that Henry knew about her pains, for she had told no one but Zelena "how did you know?"

"One more time mum, I'm the author and I now know pretty much everything on stories" then Henry gave Regina a smarty look "I knew you'd be fine, after all, the well is connected to Lake Nostos and…"

"And I wish you knew that much on algebra as well!" Regina interrupted and Henry's look changed to a let's-change-the-subject look and knocked the door on Zelena and Hades' place.

They had no much trouble convincing Hades'; especially when Zelena gave him another of her threatening looks.

* * *

While the four of them made their way to the church, the Charmings went to Gold's shop, which they trespassed despite the sign "Closed" hanging on the door.

"Don't you heroes read!?" Gold said while coming to the counter, visibly upset

"We know you're busy, but we need your help" Snow said

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested and I don't have time" Gold rudely replied and turned around to leave

"Hey, we're family; you don't get to treat us like this!" David quickly intervened

"Listen, I know you've done a lot for our family already, but trust us when we tell you that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary" Emma intervened before things escalated and Gold softened his tone:

"Miss Swan, I already know nothing is more important than family, but it happens that I also have to help MY family" Rumple lowered his head, then gave a deep breath and continued "in case you haven't heard, my wife is still in sleeping curse and since her father's "true love's kiss" wasn't so true I have to find another way to wake her up…so if you excuse me"

Gold began to leave again and the Charmings looked at each other, not knowing what to said, when Emma spoke again:

"You can still use true love's kiss to wake Belle"

"And like your parents you don't listen, do you Miss Swan? Gold turned around and replied "Neither her father or me can use true love's kiss to break that dreaded curse"

"No, it's not lack of love but lack of selflessness" Emma said " you and I have lost people we love because we've acted selfish; but now I understand that love also means to do what's best for those you love….even if you won't be benefited from it" Emma sighed and continued "You kiss didn't work but not because your love isn't true, but because its selfish; if you help us you might be able to able to find the selflessness you need to wake Belle up"

Gold remained silent for a minute and then briefly smiled "I do acknowledge one thing Miss Swan: Like your parents you have a gift to convince people. What must I do?

* * *

Half an hour before sunset, the fairies were already gathered around the altar like the Fairy Goddess asked. Also, Hades, Zelena and Regina were outside said church when the Charmings appeared with Mr. Gold.

"I was beginning to think you were not showing up" Hades told Gold

"And miss the chance to show I'm more powerful than you? Don't think so" Gold replied

"Don't be so pompous" Hades said "I'm still a god"

And yet you need me to open this portal" Gold replied

"Guys, it's not time to play my-house-is-bigger-than-yours" Emma said and Regina nodded "We better begin"

Gold waved his hand and had a wooden spinning wheel and herds of straw appear from a cloud of red smoke. Then he sat down and began to spin.

"Can't you do it a faster!?" Zelena exclaimed after 10 minutes "At this pace we'll end by sunset but tomorrow's!"

"Magic can't be rushed" Gold replied without stopping "Thought I had taught you that at least, but alas, your sister did learn better than you"

Zelena was about to throw a ball of green fire to Gold but Hades stopped her. "Don't fall for his tricks"

"I won't, but I can speed that bloody wheel!" Zelena waved her hands towards the wheel and it began spinning faster, which made the process end in 5 minutes.

Immediately after, Hades took the golden straw and gave it a spiral shape. Afterwards he imbued it with his magic and made it float in the air just in front the church's main gate.

"Dark One, the last ingredient please" Hades ordered rather than asking and mimicking the Sleeping Beauty's tale, Rumplestilskin pricked his index finger with the needle of the wheel and placed one single drop of blood on the spiral, which immediately turned into a violent vortex.

Fearing to be sucked inside the vortex, the fairies hid behind the altar while everyone else found refuge nearby; 3 minutes passed but nothing happened except for the heavy blizzard.

"Are you sure this portal will work?" Snow asked Emma yelling, not being able to listen to her otherwise

"It's our only chance" Emma replied also yelling

Shortly after this an amber light emerged from the vortex and got expelled inside the church. Emma stood up trying to see what happened but she also got expelled inside and the vortex closed, closing the church's main gates with a single blast and inadvertently locking them.

"Emma!" David yelled while running to the door and trying to open it

"No!" Regina stopped him "We've done our job and now she is on her own"

Inside the church, the fairies retook her positions while Emma stood up rubbing her head and recovering from the fall; and she almost fell to the floor again when she saw the amber light turn down, revealing Hook's spirit.

"Killian!?" She asked, still not believing what her eyes saw

"Emma!?" Hook asked and looked around, recognizing the place "Please tell me this is not what I think"

"I don't know what you mean" Emma replied

"I've been dreaming with this since you and your family returned to Storybrooke: You opened a portal from the Underworld to Storybrooke and dragged me here" Hook continued, pointing the fairies "Then they had my body reconstructed but when I stood from the altar I didn't know who you were"

"It's exactly what is about to happen Killian" Emma's voice began to break "I know you're trapped in the Underworld so I'm going to give you the chance of a new life"

"I don't want it; I'd rather stay forever in the Underworld than never remembering you!" Hook flied and tried to leave the church, but Tinkerbell took her wand and froze him in the air, dragging him down to the altar.

Just after this, the sunset began and a ray of bright white light emerged from Emma's necklace and hit Blue right in the heart. Before Tinkerbell, Nova, or any or the other fairies could react, Blue opened her eyes which were now glowing in gold.

"My dear fairies, how glad I am to see you again" The voice of the Fairy Goddess spoke through Blue "As the Savior has already explained to you, we are gathered here to give this soul a new vessel and a new life"

The Goddess continued "Laws of magic do not allow me to leave the Eden where I live so you will help me now: the powers I took from you eons ago will be returned temporarily, and they will vanish once the new vessel is finished. Now, raise your wands high my fairies"

Hook kept struggling to release himself and Tinkerbell was still holding him. "Emma, I'm afraid you're gonna have to hold him". She said and Emma placed her hands above Hook's chest and kept holding him with her magic while Tinkerbell and the other fairies obeyed the Goddess.

All the fairies' wands began glowing on different colors and when the glowing disappeared, their wands had some elvish symbols like the one Henry found in the library carved on them.

"Direct your wands to his spirit and do not stop until the reconstruction is complete" The Goddess said and the fairies nodded; then Blue turned and the Goddess spoke to Emma "Savior, when the regeneration reaches his neck you must put on him the necklace I gave you" Emma also nodded

"Why are you so stubborn Swan!?" Hook reclaimed while still struggling to escape

"Because I love you" Emma answered crying and right after that, the fairies directed their wands to Hook's spirit; with each streak of light coming from every wand, Hook's body began its regeneration.

"Emma no, please wait!" Hook exclaimed anguished; far till now, his dream was happening exactly as he saw it which meant he knew the bitter ending.

* * *

 **So, this was Chapter 6; I'm already writing Chapter 7 and will upload it asap but won't give you any heads up or I'll ruin one of the best parts (very best will come on Chapter 8 and the epilogue which I already wrote...;-). One more time, thanks for reading this!**


	7. Unexpected Outcome

**Everyday from this week I've told myself "today is the day when I get to finish writing this fic" And everyday all I get is writing one chapter, but just as Gold said "magic cannot be rushed", writing cannot be rushed either.**

 **Guess that was more to me than to you my beloved fans, we've made it to Chapter 7, yay! Far till now this has been my favorite chapter, though that title will be soon occupied by the next and last Chapter, where the rest of the loose ties come together nicely.**

 **Same warning as Chapter 6: There are no references to S5E21, also, lots of crying**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

While the regeneration process took place inside the church, all that the heroes and reformed-villains could see from the outside were rays of different lights coming from inside the church.

"Do you think my love for you is selfish?" Snow asked her husband while he was hugging her

"Why do you ask?" David asked in reply

"Because of what Emma told Gold to convince him: She is willing to lose Hook if that means that he will be fine; and I couldn't bear the idea of loosing you and I think…

"And sometimes you think too much" David interrupted "I know no person who loves better and gives herself to those she loves more than you. So please stop the comparison". Snow kissed David while Regina turned around, only to see Hades and Zelena kissing as well and Gold already gone, presumably back to his shop to keep experimenting with magic to try wake her wife.

All those couples and so much love around; Regina suddenly felt alone and thought of Robin Hood for the 1st time in three days; apparently helping others made her think less on her pain, but sometimes it was inevitable to dwell on it. In that moment, she felt her son's arms wrapping her up.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked Henry

"Mom, I know you too well and you feel uncomfortable; if I'm not mistaken, you always said my hugs were the best comfort you could ask for" Regina looked at Henry with tenderness and hugged him back.

Meanwhile inside the church, the regeneration process was half completed and Hook kept struggling and begging Emma to stop the process:

"Love, I know you mean the best, but without you I will revert to the evil pirate I was, that's not a life that I want! I beg you, stop!"

"That won't happen because I will be there to watch over you, even if we're not together, I will always watch over you!" Emma kept sobbing and holding him with her magic; she knew this process would be hard, but didn't know it would be so much….at times she felt her heart was going to leave her chest but nevertheless carried on.

Tinkerbell and the other fairies wanted to say something to comfort them, but the regeneration required much of their strength and above all, their concentration.

"Emma, the regeneration has reached his neck; place the necklace on him, for the price will now be collected" The Fairy Goddess spoke again through Blue

With one hand and still crying, Emma removed the diamond from her neck and put it on Hook while the other hand kept him still in on the altar.

When Emma placed the necklace, the regeneration began to reach Hook's head and the lights on the fairies' wands grew more intense.

"I love you, I will always love you, no matter what" Before the regeneration was complete, Emma leaned down and kissed Hook on the lips for the first time and last time in his new body.

She stood up again and one of her tears fell on the diamond. On that moment the regeneration process completed and a blinding light emerged from Hook's new body, so strong was the beam that it broke some of the vitrals on the ceiling.

After this and with the sun already set, the fairies' wands turned back to normal, and the Fairy Goddess spoke one last time:

"My work here is done Savior, but before I leave there is one more favor I have to ask from you"

"Of course" Emma responded

"Please instruct the young author to place the fairy book in the exact place where he found it; it is needless to point out the importance of keeping this part of our history secret"

"I will, and don't worry, we haven't told anyone else of your existence" Emma replied

"That I know it too, and thank you, Emma" Blue closed her eyes for a minute and when she opened them she was herself again: the Fairy Goddess was gone.

The newly-regenerated Hook remained lied down on the altar, unconscious. Emma broke crying again and Tinkerbell and the other fairies went to comfort her: even when they were tired and many of them still in shock for knowing that hidden part of their history, comforting the person who has saved them many times was more important than anything else.

"You did the right thing Emma" Tinkerbell said while Emma wet her shoulders with tears "Like I told you that time in the cemetery, you should be proud"

"Yes!" The other fairies said with one voice

"I know I did but that doesn't make it easier!" Emma kept sobbing in such a sad manner that even Blue had to turn around so she wouldn't start crying too.

Nova then turned to see if Hook was still unconscious, and she saw he began awakening. "Emma, I don't mean to be rude, but he is waking up and even if he doesn't know you anymore, I don't think you want him to see you in pain"

"You're right" Emma replied and wiping her tears with a handkerchief one of the fairies gave her, she went to Hook, who now had his eyes opened.

"

I know you don't know me and you may be confused, but I can explain…" Emma said

"Miss, I can hear you, but everything is blurry" Hook interrupted "Could you come closer so I can see you?"

"Sure" Emma leaned, the word "Miss" piercing her heart, for she would never hear again "Emma", "Swan", or "Love"

"Can you see me now? Emma asked

"No, everything is shadows" Hook replied while looking around "Perhaps if you came closer?"

Emma leaned again until her face was only inches away from Hook's "And now?"'

"Just perfect!" Hook smiled and before Emma could do, move or say any further word, he grabbed her by her red jacket's collar and kissed her passionately; Emma instinctively replied to his kiss, though when it finished she remained like she had been frozen.

For a split second, she thought that maybe Hook was right and that he had reverted to the evil, flirty pirate he was when they first meet in Lancelot's camp, but her doubts were suddenly and happily cleared when Hook sat down on the altar, hugged her tight and exclaimed:

"Emma Swan you're such a stubborn woman and I love you for that!"

Emma hugged him back and they remained like this for 30 seconds and when they separated she gave him a light slap on the face.

"Hey!, might be a new face but it hurts!" Hook reclaimed

"That was for pretending you didn't know me, didn't you see I was distressed!?" Emma replied, laughing

"Well, the entire situation was dramatic, so I thought of adding some suspense" Hook replied, also laughing

"Shut up and kiss me!" Emma said and they began kissing again

The other fairies contemplated the scene in a mixture of happiness, tenderness and astonishment.

"But how is this possible?" Tinkerbell asked, breaking the kiss

"It was the Fairy Goddess" Blue replied

"But she told me..."Emma was going to speak, but Blue interrupted her:

"She told you exactly what she needed to say, in order to test you"

"I don't understand" Emma replied

"As a magic bearer and former Dark One Emma, you know that all magic, no matter if light or dark comes with a price and even the Fairy Goddess is submitted to the magic laws" Blue paused for a moment and then continued "But she is of a rather compassionate nature, and she created the conditions to spare you from paying the price"

"I still don't understand" Hook interrupted "Everything that happened was exactly as I dreamt it, how did I not forget Emma?"

"The Fairy needed to test that you two were willing to sacrifice and she deemed you worthy" Then Blue pointed out the diamond that Hook was still wearing "that necklace isn't ordinary, for it contains a very special protection spell that can only be activated through the power of true love and selfless sacrifice. And it was activated when Emma's tear fell on it"

"So that's why the Fairy Goddess gave me this necklace? Because she knew I would make this choice?" Emma asked and Blue nodded, smiling.

"One more time we have proven our love is true" Hook said while standing up "Now let's get out of here, we have so much to do…

"And all the time in the world Hook" Emma replied while sweetly smiling at him

"I don't think you can call him Hook anymore" Tinkerbell pointed out to Killian's left hand (which had been ignored until that moment) and Hook took a look at his hand as if a boy contemplated his new toy.

"You'll get used to it, and you will always be Hook to me" Emma whispered in his ear "My family is waiting outside, we should go"

* * *

When Emma and Hook came out from the church holding hands everybody looked at them intrigued, but with one single look Emma told them everything was fine and all the Charmings ran to hug the happy couple while Zelena and Hades contemplated the scene a few steps behind

"We should go to Granny's to celebrate this and to welcome Hook again with the livings" David suggested

"Well, I believe there's more to celebrate than the pirate's come-back to life" Hades said and everyone looked puzzled "Should we tell them now my dear?"

"Tell us what?" Snow asked and Zelena took the dark leather gloves she was wearing, revealing a ring with an emerald on her wedding finger, leaving everybody in awe.

"We are getting married in a week" Zelena declared while showing the ring "We didn't want to announce it until this whole come-from-the-death issue was done"

All the presents remained in silence, until Regina broke it:

"I believe this goes beyond Granny's; we should go to my place and scorch a bottle from my apple cider reserve; and it also happens I've got a nice pumpkin cream, roast and crème-Brule to accompany with"

"Wow mum, that's a lot of cooking" Henry said

"Yes Regina, I didn't know you loved to spend that much time in the kitchen these days" Snow completed

" _I do it so I don't think of Robin"_ Regina thought to herself, doing her best to keep composure in front of so much romantic love rubbed in her face "Well, even an Ex-evil queen has the right to have some hobbies. Anyway, enough questions, will you go or not?

"Aye please!, I'm tired of eating the chimera from the Witch's Café in the Underworld " Hook exclaimed and the party began their way to Regina's house.

* * *

Snow was no fool: Regina had been acting weird lately and she hadn't seen Robin with her. Each time she asked for his whereabouts Regina answered "He's busy" or "he's in the woods" and quickly left or changed the subject.

But instead of questioning her friend, Snow respected her privacy: she let go of David's arm and walked side by side with Regina, holding her hand as she used to do it when she was a little girl. Regina turned and looked Snow in the eyes and she knew the princess was attempting to comfort her while respecting her need for silence, and she thanked her with the eyes.

While this silent stepmother-stepdaughter moment took place, Emma looked at Hook, then looked at Zelena and Hades walking ahead of them and then again to Hook. She did this two or three times and then stopped walking.

"What's the matter love?" Hook asked and everyone else stopped walking as well

Emma swallowed hard before speaking "Guys, do you think you would be willing to share your wedding with us? Emma asked Zelena and Hades

"What do you mean with sharing the wedding?"Hook asked Emma before the officially-engaged couple had any chance to reply.

Emma swallowed again and took a deep breath before turning to Hook and speaking: "I've already lost and found you four times, and I will not risk a fifth"

"What are you talking…..oh for heaven's sake! " Hook blushed like never before and the rest of the party looked with surprise as Emma kneeled on one knee and took Hook's left hand.

"Killian Jones, my beloved Hook, will you marry me?" Emma proposed

"Emma, I should be the one kneeled down instead of you!" Hook exclaimed "At least you don't have a ring"

"Says who!?" Emma took the ring from her Swan necklace and with a wave of her hand changed the ring's size and placed it on Hook's wedding finger "So what do you say?

"Get up and kiss me already Swan, of course I'll marry you!" Hook replied while grabbing Emma from her right forearm and again kissing her passionately while the rest of the party looked and applauded in happiness.

Regina took the opportunity to allow the flood of tears come out; and it worked perfectly to the point everyone thought she was crying out of happiness. Everyone except for Snow, who hugged her tight in an attempt to lessen her sorrow.

* * *

 **CaptainSwan fans: Mission accomplished, rejoice!**

 **Zades fans: Same as above**

 **Outlawqueen fans: I know I keep promising rewards and far till now there hadn't been any; but in case you have missed the obvious hints I've dropped throughout the story, the big reward for your loyalty is to come on Chapter 8 ;-)**


	8. Return to Happily Ever After

_**A few hours before the next episode but I fulfilled my promise: here's the final chapter.**_

 _ **Outlawqueen fans: As promised, here's the reward for being loyal and enduring all this angst...also, please know that while I was writing this chapter I came of with the idea for a one-shot spin-off featuring outlawqueen and zades; I hope I can publish it next week and that you like it.**_

 _ **Thank you for being so patient, enjoy!**_

* * *

"Are you nervous? Zelena told Emma, who was playing with the wedding bouquet minutes before walking into the isle

"Yes, but it's not wedding nerves: I'm afraid it's not going to last, I mean, a week ago Hook was still in the Underworld and.."

"And now he's outside waiting to marry you" Zelena completed the phrase "You shouldn't worry Emma, If there's a couple that can endure anything that would be you and Hook…well…aside from me and Hades of course"

Before the conversation could carry on, David arrived to deliver Emma "Ready?"

"Yes dad, but Zelena will be going first" Emma replied; after all Zelena and Hades had accepted to share their wedding with Emma and Hook and it was only fair that she got to walk the isle first.

"Um, Zelena I don't mean to intrude, but who will be delivering you?" David asked seeing she was going to walk alone

"Well, my real father dumped my mother before I was born and my adoptive father scorned me so…"

"So as her only family, I will be delivering her" Regina entered in that moment and completed Zelena's phrase.

When Zelena walked the isle by Regina's arm, Hades wished that all the ceremony and the reception were over so they could head directly to the honeymoon: The satin, strapless, heart cleavage and mermaid tail wedding gown Zelena was wearing marked her curves in a sexy way, and the green brocades on the veil and the bodice highlighted her already glowing eyes. But what Hades loved the most was that Zelena was wearing her hair down, and in his eyes, she looked even more beautiful. _"I am marrying the most beautiful and intelligent woman in the planet!"_ he thought to himself.

When it was Emma's turn, the one that became besotted was Hook: Emma was wearing a silk, strapless princess-cut wedding gown, her hair was tied up in a bun, with only a few golden locks framing her face, complete with the tiara that belonged to her mother Snow and her grandmother Eva before that, and on the neck, she wore the diamond the Fairy Goddess gave her, now a symbol of their love. _"This gorgeous woman is about to become my wife, and nothing will ever separate me from her again"_ Hook thought for himself.

The ceremony initiated with all the rites going on as any other wedding; but it took a funny turn when Zelena's turn so say the famous words came:

"And do you Zelena Mills, take this man…"

"This God…" Hades interrupted the priest

"I should say this devil!" The priest rudely replied to him

"What did you say?" Zelena began to form a green fireball with her right hand, and then the priest quickly resumed his speech:

"Zelena Mills, do you take this…god, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to cherish, till death tears you apart?

"I do" Zelena replied laughing; her groom used to be Lord of Death; such an insignificance would not tear them apart

Then it was the turn for Emma and Hook:

"Killian Jones, do you take Emma Swan to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to cherish, till death tears you apart?

"I do" Killian also laughed understanding Zelena; death could never end with the love they professed to each other.

And do you, Emma Swan…"

"Save it Father, I do "Emma also interrupted the priest's solemn speech, and he was glad the ceremony was almost over.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife", Grooms, you may now kiss your brides

The two couples engaged in sweet kisses and the all the attendants rose from their seats and applauded.

* * *

Everyone in Storybrooke attended the reception party; even those who had no relation with the brides/grooms, but wanted to taste some free food, but all in general there was a general festivity happy mood.

Then it came the moment when the bride has to throw the bouquet in order to find out who's the next lady to get married. Emma wanted Zelena to be the first but she allowed Emma to do it; Now that she married the man she loved and had the loving family she always yearned for, Zelena no longer had the need to be protagonist.

The ladies gathered in a circle and Emma threw her bouquet, which to the surprise of many, fell into the hands of Merida who had been dragged to the circle: "Don't even think about it! She warned Lord McIntosh who came as her companion, as he was already giving her the now-you'll-have-to-marry-me look.

Then it was Zelena's turn, but to the single ladies' deception, it was trapped by no other than her sister, who barely smiled and whose discomfort was obvious to anyone.

Zelena embraced her sister tight and they remained like this for like two minutes. Snow saw what was happening and intended to go and help comfort Regina, but Zelena signaled her that it was all right.

"If only you could be half as happy as I am" Zelena said "This is because of Robin, am I right?

Regina nodded, lowering her head."He's gone; no calls, text messages or even an email; ….he may have already left Storybrooke"

In that moment, Zelena saw at distance something that made her open both eyes and mouth wide in astonishment:

"I wouldn't be so sure. Look!" Zelena grabbed Regina by the shoulders and made her turn around; Regina had to blink several times to make sure her eyes were seeing correctly, for what she was seeing was Robin Hood, elegantly dressed and walking right towards her.

At the distance, Robin was mesmerized by how Regina looked that evening: she was wearing a strapless burgundy gown that marked her beautiful curves and a rubies-short necklace that complemented her outfit, and for a moment he became nervous, for he didn't know if this breath-taking, marvelous woman would ever forgive him and take him back…but he had to try.

"Congratulations" Was the first thing that Robin said when he arrived to where Regina and Zelena were

"Thank you" Zelena replied and the three of them remained quiet, not knowing what to say

"I…" Robin began

"If you excuse I'll leave you now" Zelena quickly said, and Regina gave her sister a don't-leave me-look, but Zelena whispered "It's all right" and left

Robin and Regina remained quiet again and this time it was Regina who tried to begin the conversation:

"Robin…I want to say…."

Regina could not finish the phrase because Robin threw himself at her, holding her so tight that Regina had to gasp for air several times.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Regina, I'm really, truly, very sorry!" Robin apologized while still holding Regina tight and kissing her several times

"I should have never told you those words and I have no excuse; you always have chosen my wellbeing above everything else and I acted so unfair with you"

"It's all right; I shouldn't have stepped over you in a decision that was so important" Regina also apologized

"But you were right all the time; it was the right choice and I allowed my grudge against Zelena and Hades take the best of me. I wronged you all" Robin then turned to Zelena and Hades' table "And I will amend it. Would you come with me?"

Still with mixed emotions, Regina took Robin's arm and walk to Zelena and Hades' table.

Robin took a deep breath and began his speech to the couple:

"I would like to apologize for my terrible behavior a month ago, I was wrong to doubt you"

"Well, in your defense, I would have doubted myself" Hades interrupted

"But that is no excuse, I now know that my daughter could ask for no better parents than you" Robin pulled a folder with some papers from inside his coat and handed them over to Zelena "I know it is custom to bring a gift when one attends a wedding, but I believe this is better"

Zelena opened the folder and began reading the papers: to her surprise, it was the official adoption papers, already signed by the attorney and Robin.

"Hades, she's ours, she's ours!" Zelena screamed in joy while hugging her husband

"I….I don't even know how to thank you" Hades said

"You don't have to; it is the right thing" Robin replied, "I only have one thing to ask of you, if I may"

"Please" Zelena and Hades replied at the same time

"I would still like to form part of my...I mean, your daughter's life; perhaps as a relative or a close friend to make it easier on her"

"You need no ask such thing" Hades replied "as a matter of fact, Zelena and I were going to ask you and Regina to be our girl's godparents"

"Oh, of course, we'll be honored" Regina replied, bewildered by everything that was happening "When's the christening? Have you t chosen a name yet?"

"We don't have a date yet" Zelena replied "But we have reviewed several names and right now our favorite is Persephone"

"Persephone…" Robin wondered" I like how it sounds"

"Yeah, so do I" Regina backed up

"Then Persephone it is" Hades declared

Right after that, the band began playing a rendition of "La Seine" from Vanessa Paradis

"Ah, finally, some decent music!" Hades exclaimed "Darling, will you dance with me?"

"Come along, dance with us" Hades asked Robin and Regina after Zelena took his hand and began walking to the dance floor

"Regina would you dance with me?" Robin asked while offering his hand, Regina looked hesitant but in the end she took it and they began dancing.

"If my presence is uncomfortable, just ask me and I'll leave" Robin told Regina when he noticed she avoided looking at him

"No please, it's not that, it's just…." Regina hesitated before she continued "I still don't understand: why did you never answered any of my messages? And where have you been all this time?

"I know, everything just came of a sudden, but if you'll allow me I can explain it all" Robin replied, and when the song ended they sat down:

"At first I must admit, a part of me was terribly mad at you, and the other part was mad at me for being mad at you. I thought you had made the worst of choices, so at first I decided to take Roland and my daughter and leave Storybrooke forever"

"That's what I don't understand; I thought that you were already gone, but you're here. What happened, what was all this trust to my sister and her husband?" Regina asked

"All that has an explanation" Robin replied "I went to the woods to decide what to do; I did see like…the first 50 voicemails, but hearing you only confused me more, so I turned it off and gave it to Will to avoid the temptation of calling you"

Robin sighed and continued "I spied on Zelena and Hades for a week, and on the evening of the 7th day, I broke into their home with the intention of stealing my daughter and leave that very night but…"

"But?"

"Zelena entered Persephone's chambers before I could take her and I hid; the girl wouldn't stop crying and Zelena lulled her till she fall asleep on the rocking chair. I thought that was my chance and then Hades entered and took the girl. I thought he was going to hurt her and was prepared to attack him, but then the most surprising thing happened…"

"What happened?"

"He put Persephone back on her crib and told her: _My dearest child, I may not be your biological father but I promise you that I will love you more than if you were my own….just as I love your mother. Everyone thinks it's too suspicious that a villain changes so fast, but love for a woman can do that, and the love for a daughter even more. You'll see, I'll be the better father a girl could ever ask for and I'll protect you from anyone that wants to hurt you…..so, I trust there are no bullies at Storybrooke's elementary, because they'll taste my wrath if they harm a hair from you. And when you grow up, your suitors better be prepared, because they'll know the River of Lost Souls if they make you cry!. ..Now sleep my darling, sleep."_

"When Hades left the room I couldn't do it anymore: I saw in both Hades and Zelena the same love Marian and I gave Roland and I understood that Persephone was more than safe with them and I desisted"

"And the adoption papers?"

"Oh, well, it happens that Storybrooke's attorney used to be a merry man once, and when I found out that the application for Persephone's adoption would take months to be approved, I used my influence to have it done in a week. Then heard of their wedding and knew it was the perfect time to deliver the news….and of course, to ask for your forgiveness, though I know I don't deserve it" Robin finished, lowering his head in shame.

"Robin…I" Regina had a nod in her throat and Robin interpreted it as a sign that she would not forgive him and stood up to leave, but Regina stood up first, took him by his right forearm and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I forgave you long ago; so you better not leave me again!" Regina exclaimed and after a five minute embrace. Robin had Regina sit down while he remained on foot.

"I'd die first before leaving you again" Robin took a deep breath and then continued "And may this serve as a proof that I will stay by your side and love you forever" Regina gasped when Robin kneeled down and took a small box from the inside; but her surprise was even bigger when Robin opened the box and revealed her mother's wedding ring.

"Regina Mills, would you do me the honor of…" Robin began his proposal

"Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes!" Regina screamed and Robin stood up and kissed her several times

At the distance, a new circle was formed but it was made of men, who were ready to catch Emma's garner as soon as Hook removed it from her leg, but the ritual was interrupted when Zelena began yelling "Oh my God, he's proposing!"

The crowd turned to Regina and Robin and began applauding, while Hook screamed to Robin:

"Thanks mate, you ruined it! Guess this is yours now!" And he threw the garter to Robin.

Robin and Regina sat down face to face again, both now irradiating happiness. In that moment, Regina noticed some sort of amulet on the floor, which probably fell down from Robin's pocket when he took out the ring.

"What's that?" Regina asked, and Robin picked up the amulet, slightly surprised that he would be carrying it.

"Oh, I forgot about this" Robin answered "It's a curious story: See, two days ago, I went to Gold's shop to get the ring for you, but Mr. Gold seemed rather in a hurry and upset, so he told me there would be only one ring that would please you; he also told me it used to be your mother's"

"Indeed"

"I was leaving the shop when this amulet caught my attention and I never knew why, but I couldn't take my eyes from it. So I asked Gold what it was and he explained me. I asked how much it was worth and he told me he gave it as gift it I left his shop right away"

"And?" Regina asked "What's this amulet for?"

"Well, Gold told me it could predict the gender of a child even before the woman was pregnant; he did tell me how it should swing depending if the child to be was a boy or a girl…but I must confess I have forgotten it" Robin finished his tale, and he didn't really know why, but before any of them were aware of it, Robin was already swinging the amulet on Regina's palm.

Regina's sudden happiness blew away; she looked away and then tried to tell Robin she was barren:

"Robin, I should have told you this long ago I can't have…" Regina's speech was interrupted by her own shock and astonishment: the amulet was swinging strongly, and though neither Regina nor Robin knew it, the amulet predicted she would have two daughters in the future, twins.

A thousand thoughts flashed into Regina's memory in that moment, but three of them made her understand what had happened:

 _"_ _Are you ok?" Emma, still panting, asked Regina who could not stop coughing  
"Yes, I must have swallowed some water…" Regina said…._

 _…_

 _"_ _Jajaja, once wicked always wicked, right sis'?….ugh!" Regina laughed and then complained. Zelena couldn't tell, but Regina was holding her lower abdomen with her free hand, visibly distraught._

 _"_ _Are you ok Regina? You seem in pain"_

 _"_ _It's nothing, I must have hit during the journey back in that dreaded well but I'll be fine"_

 _…_

 _"_ _One more time mum, I'm the author and I now know pretty much everything on stories" then Henry gave Regina a smarty look "I knew you'd be fine, after all, the well is connected to Lake Nostos and…"_

"Lake of Healing Waters…Lake Nostos…the barren hood curse…" Regina kept reciting, trying to grasp her new reality: her barren hood never bothered her, for she felt a mother to Henry and to Roland. Thus, she didn't know how to accept she could now bear children.

"Are you all right?" Robin asked seeing his betrothed in shock.

"Yes" Regina looked at him and decided she would dissert on that issue later "We should go to my place now"

"But I've only just arrived" Robin replied and then Regina took the garter and giving him the sexiest of looks, she whispered, if not moaned in his ear:

"And I bet you're dying to put this garter on my thigh…and take off other things as well"

"Why your Majesty, your wish is my command!" Robin answered and before anyone noticed, they were gone from the party.

On the dance floor, both newly-wed couples were dancing and exchanging dovey-looks. Emma then declared:

"Well, we all finally got our happy endings"

"No love" Hook corrected "We returned to our happily ever after" And he kissed his wife for like the 200th time.

* * *

 _ **Well, this is it, I hope you liked the story and if there's anything to improve, please let me know. :-)**_


End file.
